Main Menu

Steam Site Licensing Program

...

Steam Site Licensing Program

If you are interested in using Steam's content or services in a public setting, you should join the Steam Site Licensing Program (formerly Cybercafé Program). To do so, you can sign up directly at https://partner.steamgames.com/. 

If you're experiencing any issues, please refer to our instructions page or contact us directly via cybercafes@valvesoftware.com.

Instructions on how to add multiple accounts to the same license agreement can be found here. 

 

What kind of sites is the Site Licensing Program meant for?

Any physical site where you intend to allow others access to Steam, SteamVR, Steam games or other content or services provided by Valve, whether you take money for it or not. 

Sites in this sense may include arcades, amusement parks, cybercafés, dorms, museums, pop-up stores or in fact any other place you can think of.

Why can't I just let others access my own Steam games and account?

Regular Steam subscriptions are provided with a purely noncommercial, personal license (see our Subscriber Agreement). This will not cover any kind of public use or making content available to third parties. 

The Site Licensing Program is designed to make it easy and affordable for you to allow your patrons access to all the great content and services that Steam has to offer.

What content and services are covered by the site license?

Signing up for a site license allows you operate Steam at your site. It also allows you to let your Patrons use games and other content under these circumstances:

  1. Your patrons may log into their personal Steam user accounts at your site and run any subscriptions that are associated with their accounts, just as they can on their own personal PC hardware. We see this as the best way for your patrons to experience Steam's wide variety of games and its rich social features and in-game economy. 
  2. For situations where it is not practical or desirable for your patrons to log into their personal Steam User Accounts (e.g. a VR setup where the users have no access to a keyboard or monitor), Valve also offers a small but growing list of titles as part of the Free Site Subscriptions List that may be used for free by your patrons without logging into their own Steam User Accounts. 
  3. If you want to make any content that is not listed on the Site Subscriptions List available to your patrons and it is not an option for them to use their personal Steam User Accounts, you need to obtain a Paid Site Subscription either through Steam or directly from the games' developers or publishers. Paid Site Subscriptions on Steam are only shown to visitors logged into user accounts that have signed up to the Site Licensing Program. These commercial licenses are also clearly marked as such and are generally priced higher than the regular end user licenses.

Where do I find the commercial licenses?

Commercial licenses can be found by visiting the game's individual store page - the license will be displayed right under the regular end user price. You can also search for the commercial licenses by ticking the "Site Licenses" option under "Show selected types" or by clicking the link here. On the game's store page, the commercial license price will be displayed right under the regular purchase option.

How much is joining the Site Licensing Program?

Joining the Site Licensing Program is free. So is letting your patrons play any games using their personal Steam User Accounts or games that are provided as part of the Free Site Subscriptions List. The prices for Paid Site Subscriptions for other individual games can be found on their respective Steam store pages.

Do I need to sign up to the Site Licensing Program with each Steam user account I use at my site(s)?

No. You only need to sign up once with the main Steam user account you use to administer your Site account. For security reasons, you should not use this account on a machine that is accessible to your patrons. In the future, you can also add additional user accounts for the individual machines at your site through the partner page directly.

However, please be aware that if you also purchase Paid Site Subscriptions to individual games through Steam, these are generally issued on a per seat basis, meaning that you have to have one Steam user account and one Paid Site Subscription per machine that you intend to offer the licensed game on concurrently.  

What content is currently available through the Free Site Subscriptions List?

At this time, the Free Site Subscriptions List consists of:

*(One-time purchase required)

**(Including license to install the game Portal 2 ONLY to provide assets for Portal Stories:VR)

I am a developer and would like to make my game or a demo of it available either through the Free Site Subscriptions List or as a Paid Site Subscription. What should I do?

Great! Please reach out to us via cybercafes@valvesoftware.com and we will help you get set up.

Problem with Steam?

Help Me With My Issue